County Durham pensioner saves woman's life with CPR at a disco
The 76 year-old has been given a CPR Hero award
A pensioner from County Durham has been recognised as a hero for saving the life of a woman using CPR.
Her heart stopped beating when she collapsed at a disco at the working men's club in Grange Villa near Chester-le-Street.
76-year-old Ray McDermott came to the rescue and has been recognised with a CPR Hero award by the British Heart Foundation (BHF).
Ray, who worked for the North East Ambulance Service as a cardiac technician, said he was in his “usual seat” one evening in April this year when someone called for anyone with medical experience to help them.
He said: "I got up to offer, thinking it would just be someone with a turned ankle from dancing a bit too enthusiastically! Instead I found a woman collapsed on the floor half under the table - I knew then that it was a problem."
After asking someone to dial 999, Ray began CPR immediately on the 66-year-old woman. He said she started breathing but stopped again so he carried on for 15 minutes while speaking to ambulance operators on the phone.
Eventually the ambulance crew arrived and the woman was taken to hospital in Newcastle.
The BHF says Ray’s actions were even more heroic because he suffers from a debilitating lung condition himself known as COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).
He said: “After I was finished and they had taken the woman to hospital I was absolutely shattered. I got up and Carol was waiting for me – I said: ‘is it alright if I go and have a pint because I really need to sit down and relax for a few minutes?’
“While I was doing CPR I completely forgot about my COPD – it just goes out of my mind when someone is that bad, my one thought is for them. Even if I am struggling to breathe I make myself breathe because I need to for them."
Ray, who is a keen advocate for people to learn CPR skills, said he had been able to meet the woman he saved after she came out of hospital.
He added: "It was a bit of a shock. She came in with her daughter and said they were looking for Raymond. The lads pointed me out and they came over and gave me a cuddle – it was brilliant.
“The daughter said thank you for saving my mum’s life because the hospital had said that if it wasn’t for my actions she wouldn’t have survived."
Charmaine Griffiths, CEO at the BHF, said: “The incredible stories of our 2023 Heart Hero Awards nominees like Ray never fail to inspire me. We’re so thankful to all our supporters who show courage, resilience and bravery every day in the face of heart and circulatory diseases.
“There are 7.6 million people in the UK living with heart and circulatory conditions – but by funding lifesaving research, the BHF is helping to keep families together and give people more time with their loved ones. That’s why this Christmas, we are calling for the public to give a gift that keeps on living by donating to the BHF."